BMW’s CSL Hommage may get manual, EU bans ICE after 2035, 5356-mile Hyundai econobox hits BaT
BMW’s 3.0 CSL Hommage could save the manuals … but do you care?
Intake: BMW has dropped the first official shots of a production-bound version of its CSL Hommage, first revealed as a concept in 2020. Although heavily wrapped in a camouflage stitched from images of other M cars, some key details are clear. The throwback to 1972’s homologation special has significantly smaller kidney grilles than the modern-day M4 CSL upon which it’s based. (BMW revealed that 3640-pound bruiser last month; you can get all the specs here.) There’s a new hood design and flared fenders that distantly resemble those of the original 3.0 CSL “Batmobile.” At the rear you’ll find wider arches, a reprofiled bumper, and quad exhausts. A sizeable trunk lid spoiler and a neat roof-mounted aerofoil top things off. Better still is the message “6MT FTW” tagged on the rear, which seems to promise the CSL will feature a six-speed manual transmission. (The M4 CSL is auto-only.) Another tag—”we like it rare”—alludes to the extremely low production run, likely to be as low as 50 cars priced at an eye watering $650,000 a pop.
Exhaust: We’re not so sure nostalgia is worth over a half-million, in this case, even if the Hommage does indeed arrive as the most powerful M4 variant with a manual transmission. An original 3.0 CSL in world-class condition costs nearly half this turbocharged throwback’s sticker price: $373,000. Why not buy a second version of the real deal? Heck, you could have one for your collection and one for your race stable.
Triumph purchases Oset, strengthens off-road and electric portfolios
Intake: Triumph has really been pushing to enter the off-road—and more specifically the motocross—segment for roughly a year. Its latest move is to acquire Oset, a brand that is focused on kid-sized electric bikes. Oset has been in business for 18 years and its current line, which does include one adult-sized machine, is all-electric. This move will bring some off-road tech into Triumph’s knowledge base while also allowing Oset to expand into Triumph dealers.
Exhaust: At first glance, Oset doesn’t appear to have the technology Triumph needs to realize its goal of a motocross- and enduro-dominated catalog, but we are thinking this acquisition is just as much a crime of opportunity as it is a strategic ploy. The combination of electric tech and child-sized machines sets Triumph on a path to captures riders from day one, an opportunity all the other off-road competition already has.
As of 2035, the ICE age is officially over in Europe
Intake: After 16 hours of heated debate in Luxembourg, the European Union has agreed to ban new gasoline and diesel combustion-powered vehicles from sale in the bloc’s 27 countries from 2035. Despite objections from several nations who complained that wealth inequality would make it much harder for buyers to go all-electric, and from Italy, which wants a stay of execution for its legendary sports car makers, the new rules call for a “100 percent CO2 emissions reduction target by 2035 for new cars and vans.” Five years earlier a new Euro 7 emissions standard will require a reduction in CO2 by 55 percent for cars and 50 percent for vans.
Exhaust: The reality is that the demise of the internal-combustion engine in Europe will come even faster. Brexit Britain has opted to ban gasoline and diesel engines in new cars in 2030 and the European market is already shifting rapidly to EVs.
Who drives a 2003 Elantra just 5356 miles … and sells it on Bring a Trailer?
Intake: Over the past few years, we’ve seen some absolutely dazzling cars cross the digital auction block at Bring a Trailer. We’ve seen a few puzzling ones as well—like this 2003 Elantra GT hatchback. Listed by a private party from Peoria, Arizona, this silver over black example has a mere 5356 miles on its 135-hp 2-liter inline-four. The GT got a five-speed manual and sport-tuned suspension, although 2003 was well before Hyundai offered serious sporting machines such as the soon-departing Veloster N. It comes with a clean CarFax report and the original window sticker, which shows that new, this little machine cost just $15,074 (just under $24K in today’s dollars). With six days left in the no-reserve auction, bids are already up to $5100.
Exhaust: We know that turn-of-the-century Japanese cars have become a hot collector segment as of late, but could Korean metal from the same era be a new collector frontier? Given Hyundai and Kia’s brand perception at the time—cut-rate and cheap—a burgeoning collector market doesn’t seem likely. This Elantra is probably on BaT because of that paltry odometer reading. “Some bidders on Bring a Trailer place low mileage above any promise of collectability,” explained Hagerty Price Guide editor Greg Ingold. “That’s likely why such a generic car as this is on the auction platform.” Your author has a bit of a soft spot for these Hyundais; a remarkably ratty Elantra helped him through a complicated time in his post-college life and, although it’s now been turned to scrap, he still thinks highly of it.
